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UKIPT Grand Final (EPT8 London) - September 30 - October 5, 2011 - Event Coverage

On this page you will find Player Lists, Gallery Photos, Payout, Side Events and Final Table from the event.

For more information, please see the UKIPT Grand Final (EPT8 London) event page.

Full reports from UKIPT Grand Final (EPT8 London) are on the PokerStars blog.

Player Lists

Gallery

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Payout

A total of 691 bought into UKIPT Grand Final (EPT8 London) creating a total prizepool of £3,351,350. A min cash will net players £7,500 and the winner will take home a life changing £750,000

1. Benny Spindler, Germany, PokerStars player, £750,000

2. Steve O'Dwyer, USA, £465,000
3. Andre Klebanov, Germany, £265,000
4. Juan Manuel Pastor, Spain, Team PokerStars Pro, £200,000
5. Mattias Bergstrom, Sweden, £155,000
6. Kevin Iacofano, USA, £120,000
7. Martins Adeniya, UK, £86,350
8. Miroslav Benes, Czech Republic, PokerStars qualifier, £64,000

9. Adria Balaguer, Spain, £45,000
10. Jeremy Kottler, USA, £45,000

11. James Mitchell, UK, £35,000
12. Hugo Loureiro, Portugal, £35,000

13. Benjamin Jenkins, UK, PokerStars player, £27,000
14. Anatoly Gurtovoy, Russia, PokerStars qualifier, £27,000

15. Pascal Hartmann, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, £22,000
16. Ioannis Beris, Greece, PokerStars qualifier, £22,000

17. Joao Barbosa, Portugal, £19,000
18. Andries Swart, Netherlands, PokerStars qualifier, £19,000

19. Basile Yaiche, France, £19,000
20. Fowzi Baroukh, United Kingdom, £19,000
21. Aadam Daya, Canada, £19,000
22. Justas Semaska, Lithuania, £19,000
23. Per Hildebrand, Sweden, £19,000
24. Sebastian Blom, Sweden, £19,000

25. Neil Pearce, United Kingdom, PokerStars qualifier, £16,000
26. Daniel Rowlands, United Kingdom, £16,000
27. Sam Macdonald, United Kingdom, £16,000
28. Ivan Tan Zhong Wei, Singapore, PokerStars qualifier, £16,000
29. Salvatore Bonavena, Italy, Team PokerStars Pro, £16,000
30. Laurence Houghton, United Kingdom, PokerStars player, £16,000
31. Christopher McClung, Canada, PokerStars Passport qualifier, £16,000
32. Humberto Brenes, Costa Rica, Team PokerStars Pro, £16,000

33. Matthijs Remie, Holland, PokerStars qualifier, £13,000
34. Aleksi Savela, Finland, PokerStars Passport qualifier, £13,000
35. Ramon Demon Cserei, Romania, PokerStars qualifier, £13,000
36. Barry O'Callaghan, Ireland, PokerStars qualifier, £13,000
37. Roberto Romanello, United Kingdom, £13,000
38. Sandor Demjan, Hungary, £13,000
39. Steven Kelly, United States, £13,000
40. John Gale, United Kingdom, £13,000
41. Marvin Rettenmaier, Germany, £13,000
42. Ana Marquez, Spain, Team PokerStars Pro, £13,000
43. Stanislav Koleno, Slovakia, PokerStars qualifier, £13,000
44. Kyle Cheong, Australia, PokerStars qualifier, £13,000
45. Daniel Neilson, Australia, £13,000
46. Julien Burnay, France, PokerStars qualifier, £13,000
47. Paul Foltyn, United Kingdom, £13,000
48. Dermot Blain, Ireland, PokerStars Player, £13,000

49. Jamie Rosen, United States, £11,000
50. Andreas Munoz, Spain, £11,000
51. Jonathan Layani, France, £11,000
52. Raffaele Gerbi, Italy, £11,000
53. Spiro Con Tzerefos, Australia, PokerStars qualifier, £11,000
54. Tobias Revenas, Sweden, PokerStars Passport qualifier, £11,000
55. Scott Shelley, United Kingdom, £11,000
56. Arvi Vainionkulma, Finland, £11,000
57. Barny Boatman, United Kingdom, £11,000
58. Sakari Setala, Finland, £11,000
59. Hui Chen-Kuo, China, £11,000
60. James Wilson, United Sates, £11,000
61. Paul Vas Nunes, PokerStars player, £11,000
62. Nicolas Cardyn, France, £11,000
63. Kevin Stamnen, USA, £11,000
64. Hannibal Higgins, United Kingdom, £9,000

65. Andrew Chen, Canada, £9,000
66. Elliott Peterman, United Kingdom, £9,000
67. Nikolas Liakos, Sweden, £9,000
68. Andrew Feldman, United Kingdom, £9,000
69. Mustapha Kanit, Italy, £9,000
70. Paul Alterman, United Kingdom, £9,000
71. Tony Cascarino, Ireland, £9,000
72. Giuseppe Zarbo, Italy, £9,000
73. Eric Sjoberg, Sweden, £9,000
74. Richard Grace, United Kingdom, PokerStars player, £9,000
75. Marco Leonzio, Italy, £9,000
76. Sebastian Ruthenberg, Germany, Team PokerStars Pro, £9,000
77. Doyle Brunson, United States, £9,000
78. Toby Lewis, United Kingdom, £9,000
79. Phil Shaw, United Kingdom, PokerStars qualifier, £9,000
80. Stavros Kalfas, Greece, £9,000

81. Markus Garberg, Norway, £7,500
82. Jami Juutila, Finland, PokerStars Passport qualifier, £7,500
83. Lukasz Golczyk, Poland, £7,500
84. Rajesh Vohra, United States, £7,500
85. Ronald Grauer, Switzerland, PokerStars qualifier, £7,500
86. Tim Ulrich, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, £7,500
87. Jamie Brown, United Kingdom, £7,500
88. Erling Stenderup, Denmark, PokerStars qualifier, £7,500
89. Bryn Kenney, United States, PokerStars player, £7,500
90. Remco de Vries, Holland, £7,500
91. Keith Hawkins, United Kingdom, £7,500
92. Robin Lindqvist, Sweden, £7,500
93. Jamie Burland, United Kingdom, £7,500
94. Talal Shakerchi, United Kingdom, £7,500
95. Jeffrey Sarwer, Canada, £7,500
96. Geert-Jan Potijk, Holland, £7,500
97. Bolivar Palacios, Uruguay, PokerStars qualifier, £7,500
98. Robert Angood, United Kingdom, £7,500
99. Matthew Nieberg, United Kingdom, PokerStars qualifier, £7,500
100. Carlos Sanchez Vegas, Spain, £7,500
101. Neil Lusher. United Kingdom, £7,500
102. Jonathan Roy, Canada, PokerStars player, £7,500
103. Jorge Cuello, Spain, £7,500
104. Petter Jonathan Karal, Norway, £7,500

Side Events

High Roller

A total of 75 bought into EPT8 London High Roller creating a total prizepool of £1,485,000. Nine players will finish in the money with £25,000 for 9th, all the way up to £511,300 for 1st.

1. Philipp Gruissem, Germany, £450,200
2. Igor Kurganov, Germany, £318,330
3. Rob Akery, United Kingdom, £120,500
4. Olivier Busquet, United States, £171,200
5. Adrian Bussman, Sweden, £102,250
6. Joel Nordkvist, Sweden, £72,950
7. Sam Trickett, United Kingdom, £68,800
8. Michael Tureniec, Sweden, £58,400
9. James Bord, United Kingdom, £25,000

Final Table

UKIPT Grand Final (EPT8 LONDON) – FINAL TABLE PLAYER PROFILES

Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, 32, Czech Republic – PokerStars qualifier – 370,000
There’s one at most EPT final tables, an online qualifier that had dreamt of making it to the final table but hadn’t actually thought it would happen; Miroslav Benes assumes that mantle at EPT London. Benes, who owns a company that produces tools for fixing machines, is a keen recreational player who focuses on online tournaments. Given the field he’s had to navigate to make it this far, it seems that his leisure time has been well spent.

He’s only had one significant live cash – sixth in the PokerStars Prague Open in 2010, so what does it feel like to have made the final table of an EPT? “It feels like a big success already because I qualified online. I just came here with my girlfriend for the trip, I didn't think I'd make it this far.”

Benes may be starting the final as a short stack, just seven-and-a-half big blinds, but the online qualifier literally has nothing to lose. He's already guaranteed himself £64,000 and an early double up or two will put him back in with a chance for a six-figure score.

Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 21, Chemnitz, Germany / Belarus – 2,730,000
Klebanov started playing poker online when he was 18. At first he only played Sit and Gos but later started playing multi-table tournaments. London is his second EPT. He was down to 4,000 chips in the second level of the tournament and was sure he was going to bust early on Day 1 but he managed a come back – one of several over the last five days. Klebanov has dual nationality – he was born in Belarus but he now lives in East Germany.

Seat 3: Steve O’Dwyer, 29, Pennsylvania, USA – 1,250,000
Steve O'Dwyer hails from the United States originally, but recently relocated to Malta in order to be able to play online poker again. As well as thriving online, O'Dwyer – who studied communications and broadcasting at East Carolina University - also does pretty well for himself in the live poker realm. His first cash was in 2007 when he made the money at the PCA. In December 2009, O'Dwyer earned his largest live score to date after placing sixth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for over $200,000. Earlier this year, O'Dwyer tasted victory after winning a $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the Bellagio Cup VII in Las Vegas for $259,452. A month later in August, he won the Epic Poker League's $1,500 Pro-Am event for $43,810. At the last EPT stop, O'Dwyer finished fifth in the €10,000 High Roller for €46,900. His total lifetime tournament earnings amount to over $1.1 million.

Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, 44, Madrid, Spain – Team PokerStars Pro – 1,915,000
Pastor started out in media marketing before focusing on playing poker. He learnt the basics of the game from his grandfather, but what started out as a fun pastime soon turned into a serious money-making opportunity and he is now one of the most successful Spanish players on the circuit as well as an acclaimed poker commentator and broadcaster.

Pastor’s first real break was two top eight finishes in Barcelona at the 2006 World Heads-Up Poker Championships. He also thrived in regional poker events in the Campeonato Espana de Poker including taking down a $600 NL tournament in 2008 for €22,200. He has also had several deep runs at EPTs, including 54th place at the Season 6 Grand Final for €30,000. Overall, Pastor has earned nearly $220,000 in live tournament winnings. His most recent cash was ten days ago when he bubbled the final table of the PokerStars Estrellas Ibiza event for €7,450. Pastor is married with two sons and a daughter.

Seat 5: Benny Spindler, 26, Darmstadt, Germany – PokerStars player – 3,435,000
This is Spindler’s second deep run in the EPT London Main Event – he finished 12th here two years ago for £28,000. That result followed his biggest ever cash - and his first brush with fame - when he came third at the 2009 PCA for $1.1 million. Spindler’s other huge result was second place in last season’s EPT Grand Final High Roller for €316,000 (the event won by Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier). Despite all these great results however, Spindler is planning to ease up on live events for a while and concentrate on playing online Pot Limit Omaha. He took up poker in 2006, starting in the micro limits before grinding his way right up to the high stakes cash games. Originally from Darmstadt in Germany, Spindler has been living in London for the last year. He said: “I like London and a lot of my friends live here ... like Sebastian Ruthenberg, Philip Gruissem, Tobias Reinkemeier and Fabian Quoss”.

Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 26, Cleveland, Ohio, USA – 2,685,000
Originally from Cleveland, Iacofano moved to Las Vegas in 2007 in order to pursue a career as a poker professional. He is considered one of the best online poker players in the world but is here in London making his second EPT final table. Back in February, Iacofano final tabled Season 7's Copenhagen stop, eventually finishing in fourth place for $183,580. That was also his last EPT so he is effectively on back-to-back final tables. His other notably big cash was making the final of a 2009 WSOP $1,500 PLO event. He finished third for $96,128. Heading into this final table, Iacofano has $439,766 in live tournament winnings. Online, Iacofano holds over $875,000 in winnings on PokerStars and one WCOOP bracelet coming in 2009 when he won Event No. 8 for $64,000. Iacofano is an avid sports fan, following the Cleveland Browns, Cavaliers and Indians. He's also a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 26, London, UK - 4,736,000
Londoner Martins Adeniya turned pro three years ago after leaving a high-paying job at Lloyd’s insurance. He had tried working during the day and grinding online at night but soon found he was earning far more as a player. A deep run in a 2009 online tourney cemented his decision to turn pro and gave him enough of a bankroll to start playing live events and cash games. The switch has turned out to be a good one: to date, Adeniya, who graduated in business administration, has earned more than $250k live and even more online.

He first came to media attention when he was the overnight Day 1a chip leader at last season’s EPT Snowfest in Austria. He ended up finishing 15th in that event for €11,495. His biggest result to date was 13th place in the 2010 WSOP $25k NL Six Max event for $58,699 and two weeks later bubbling the final of the $2,500 NL Six Max for $40,547. He was also runner-up in the $500 Venetian Deep Stack event in May 2010 and min-cashed the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Adeniya loves the travel element of playing live tourneys, seeing new sights and experiencing new cultures.

Seat 8: Mattias Bergström, 24, Stockholm, Sweden – 3,620,000
High Stakes cash game player Mattias Bergström, also called Bettan by his friends, is 24 years old and comes from Stockholm. He started playing poker back in high school after watching the EPT on TV. He's been around on the EPT tour for years now and has played about ten events before this one. This is his first cash in a big international tournament. His biggest tournament winning prior to this was the Swedish Championship in 2009 where he finished fifth for around $40 000. Here in London he's being supported by his friends Joel Nordkvist, Gustav Sundell and Ramzi Jelassi among others.

A table will appear below showing the current leaderboard rankings, once the results are in from PokerStars Marbella Festival, June 12-16, 2013.

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